A
federal appeals court on Monday rejected a U.S. Department of Justice request
to place on hold an appeal over President Donald Trump's travel ban on people
from seven majority-Muslim countries.
The
order from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could increase pressure on the
Trump administration to clarify its intentions regarding the controversial
executive order.
The 9th Circuit
suspended Trump's travel ban earlier this month while litigation over the
measure proceeds. Trump has said he will soon issue a new executive order that
addresses concerns raised by the appeals court judges.
The president's
Jan. 27 order caused chaos at airports around the world as visa holders heading
to the United States were pulled off planes or turned around upon arrival at
U.S. airports.
Trump has said travel limitations are necessary to protect
the United States from attacks by Islamist militants. His original order barred
people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering
the country for 90 days. Refugees were banned for 120 days, except those from
Syria, who were banned indefinitely.
Americans were deeply divided over the
measure, which was condemned by prominent U.S. companies and allies and
challenged in court by the state of Washington.
The 9th Circuit had directed the Justice
Department to file a legal brief defending the travel ban later this week.
Given Trump's intention to issue a new order, however, the Justice Department
asked last week for the appeal to be placed on hold.
In a response, the state of Washington said
the Trump administration has said both that it would pursue an appeal, and that
it would issue a new order.
"Throughout these proceedings, there
appears to have been a lack of communication between the Department of Justice
and the White House," the Washington attorney general's office said in a
court filing arguing that the 9th Circuit move forward now.
Representatives
for the Justice Department declined to comment.
After stating that a new travel ban would
be issued last week, a White House official said on Wednesday that a new order
would come sometime this week.
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